Hamilton's air quality lagging behind as province's improves

The provincial Ministry of the Environment has released its annual air quality report for 2013, and though there are some improvements, Hamilton's air quality is still among the worst in the province in some categories.

The report touts overall improvements in air quality across the province over the past 10 years as levels of pollutants and greenhouse gas pollution continue to decrease.

But within that trend, Hamilton's picture is a less positive one for some key pollutants.

Ozone levels in the city have risen sharply in the last 20 years, the report shows. The annual mean for ozone levels downtown rose 62 per cent in the last two decades, and jumped 43 per cent on the Mountain and 41 per cent in the west end, respectively.

In the last 10 years, ozone levels in the west end have risen 23 per cent, which is the highest such jump in the province.

Ozone is a colourless, odourless gas and is a major component of smog. The report calls ozone at the ground level a "significant environmental and health concern."

On the upside, smog days in Hamilton have taken a significant dip in recent years. There were 45 smog days in 2005, compared to just two in 2013, and that was due to forest fire smoke that originated in northwestern Quebec, the ministry says.

The city recorded "very good to good" air quality 90 per cent of the time, the ministry added.

Across the province, annual averages of fine particulate matter were down by 30 per cent. But amid that fall, Hamilton remains an area with high particulate levels.

In fact, downtown Hamilton recorded the highest levels of particulate matter in the province in 2013, the report shows – and those levels have risen since 2004. Particulate matter includes aerosols, smoke, fumes, dust, fly ash and pollen.

Major sources of particulate matter include cars, smelters and industrial facilities. "Due to their small size, they can penetrate deep into the lungs," the report reads. 

Downtown Hamilton also had the highest mean concentration of sulphur dioxide in the province, beating out even Sarnia.

On the plus side, nitrogen dioxide is down 37 per cent in the city and carbon monoxide dropped by 50 per cent.

"Cleaner air is important to all people of Ontario and lowers the health risks associated with pollution such as asthma and other respiratory diseases," said ministry spokesperson Lindsay Davidson in a statement.

"The report confirms that actions like the phase-out of coal, emissions trading regulations, industrial air standards and Drive Clean are working and our air quality is improving," she said.

adam.carter@cbc.ca |  AdamCarterCBC

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Port Fuels plant: City wants the province to take a closer look

Hamilton city councillors want the province to give extra scrutiny to a proposed gasification plant to make sure the project won't cause health or environmental damage to the city's residents.

But the chances of that review actually happening are slim.

The general issues committee voted on Wednesday to ask the Ministry of Environment for a full environmental assessment of the proposed Port Fuels and Materials Services Inc. energy-from-waste plant.

A city-hired consultant says the project still has question marks, such as the amount of emissions it will cause and how it will handle various types of waste. And the technology, Gasplasma, is largely untested on the scale that Port Fuels is proposing for Hamilton's waterfront.

'The residents of Hamilton deserve better than being guinea pigs to private equity and profit.'- Coun. Matthew Green

But such full assessments, known as "bump ups," don't happen often, said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. And at the meeting Wednesday, city consultant Peter Pickfield said there was a "slight" chance of it happening.

That's why the motion also included asking Port Fuels to give the city and province more information on the project, as an alternative in case the bump up isn't granted, Eisenberger said.

"It's in the hands of the province at the end of the day," he said. "The Ministry of Environment is going to make the best decision on this, and they will determine whether it needs to be done."

The bump up request is the latest in a series of actions the city has taken to try to have a say in the project, which would manufacture industrial waste from around the harbour.

The Hamilton Port Authority will give final approval to the lease. The waterfront project already complies with the city's zoning bylaw, which is necessary for a building permit, so councillors won't be able to vote on that either.

'Serious trust issues'

But many councillors are against the project. This includes Coun. Matthew Green of Ward 3, who tabled a motion Wednesday to formally oppose the plant. He also wanted to put a moratorium on doing any kind of business with Port Fuels if the province doesn't grant a bump up.

"The residents of Hamilton deserve better than being guinea pigs to private equity and profit," said Green, who says he has "serious trust issues" with the company.

'I don't want to scare away investors, but we need to have standards.'- Coun. Chad Collins

Councillors put off Green's motion until the city hears back about the bump up. But Coun. Chad Collins of Ward 5 joined him in opposing the project, saying the city's lax and outdated industrial zoning laws allow Hamilton to be "a city of last resort" for waste facilities.

Hamilton has become "the waste capital of Canada," he said.

"I don't want to scare away investors, but we need to have standards," he said. "And I'm not sure what (Port Fuels is) proposing meets the standards we need to adopt immediately."

City doesn't need to 'bend over'

Coun. Sam Merulla of Ward 4 opposed it too, calling it a "vision of yesterday."

"It's too easy to bend over for everyone who comes here saying they're going to give us money."

Robert Clark of Port Fuels said afterward that a bump up isn't needed. The province already had the company do an environmental screening process, which uses the same criteria, he said. So it doesn't need the same information again.

"We maintain that we don't need one," he said.

'If we're going to be innovative, as we say we are in our mission statement, we can't keep shutting the door on anything that's creative and innovative.'- Mayor Fred Eisenberger

The city hired its own consultant, WSP, to do an environmental assessment. WSP had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to access technical information about the proposed plant. Because of that, said David MacGillivray of WSP, Port Fuels isn't allowing the public to see the full technical report.

Clark defended the decision, saying the full report contains "trade secrets."

Mayor calls the project 'intriguing'

In its report, WSP posed 11 questions about the Port Fuels project. Clark said his company is already in the process of answering them.

The city expects to wait months before it hears whether the province will grant the bump up request. When it does, Green will reintroduce his motion.  

Eisenberger said Wednesday that he wouldn't support that motion. He wants to keep his mind open to alternatives to garbage going into local landfills.

"The technology is intriguing," he said.

"If we're going to be innovative, as we say we are in our mission statement, we can't keep shutting the door on anything that's creative and innovative."

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Hamilton cop faces Police Act charges over benefits, ammunition and licence plates

A veteran Hamilton police officer is awaiting 700 pages of documents from police counsel on five Police Services Act charges related to employee benefits, ammunition and licence plates.

A PSA hearing for Jason Howard, a Division 3 sergeant, was pushed back Thursday. The two sides are expected to reconvene in a month to set a hearing date. He's charged with two counts of discreditable conduct and three counts of insubordination.

Howard has been suspended with pay since April 2014.

Police documents allege that Howard submitted two false claims to his benefits carrier, Manulife Financial between Jan. 2 and Oct. 2, 2013.

Documents also say that Howard didn't surrender ammunition, or submit reports around found licence plates to police or the Ministry of Transportation.

Howard, 43, of St. Catharines has been a member of Hamilton Police Service for 15 years.

Hamilton Police counsel Marco Visentini said he had sent documentation Howard's lawyer should review — some 700 pages. The next hearing date is scheduled for May 14, where a trial date for Howard is expected to be set.

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Brandon Clark hasn't woken up since his third surgery

The son of former city councillor Brad Clark was taken out of a medically-induced coma earlier this week as doctors worked to repair the damage caused by a shotgun blast at close range — but he still hasn't woken up since his third surgery on Monday.

Clark posted an update on Facebook Wednesday night about his son, Brandon, and asked that people continue to pray for his family.

"He did not wake up today as we had hoped and has a fever," Clark wrote. "We pray that tomorrow brings a better day."

This week, police have been combing the computer and other belongings of a 25-year-old man who opened fire in a Queenston Road apartment on Sunday, leaving four people injured before turning the weapon on himself. Police are looking for clues as to what led to the tragic attack. 

Friends and family of the shooter told police he'd expressed frustration at "ongoing noise issues" in the apartment directly above his, police say, though no noise complaints had been filed with the police or the property management company.

Police say a man showed up with a shotgun during a gathering at a Queenston Road apartment at about 2 a.m. on Sunday and opened fire. (David Ritchie/CBC)

The shooter died as a result of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. In a recent Facebook post, Clark also asked people to pray for his family.

"I am respectfully asking you to keep him and his family in your prayers," he said. "I forgave him his transgressions Sunday morning and I have included his family in my prayers."

"This was a senseless tragedy where five lives, five families have been changed and scarred forever."

Police did not disclose his name, but a family member told CBC Hamilton that the shooter's name was Fred Pearce. In an obituary for Pearce, his mother, Tammy Fletcher, said, "Fred was very loved but did not realize how much."

According to police, a man showed up at a third floor apartment with a shotgun during a gathering at about 2 a.m. Sunday and opened fire.

Clark and his friend Scott Morin were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds, while another man and a woman were injured jumping off the third-floor balcony to escape.

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This is your brain on whisky

This is your brain on whisky: its sluggish, predictable, non-chaotic, linear and neurochemical messages never reach their intended targets. Your brain on whisky, and all alcohol for that matter, is simple less adaptable.

"Your brain is healthiest when it's more chaotic and more non-linear, and any alcohol can take your brain out of that complex state," said Dr. Michael Noseworthy, an imaging specialist from McMaster University. "When your synapses aren't firing, your adaptation is going to be sluggish."

That inability to adapt is what got Noseworthy and researcher Alex Weber thinking about alcohol and the brain. They were wondering if Canada's alcohol laws with respect to driving accurately measure the amount of alcohol in the brain, and what impact an amount of alcohol has on the brain as a whole.

For an imaging specialist like Noseworthy, with 26-years in the field and the title of co-­director of McMaster's School of Biomedical Engineering, the question was not just how much alcohol was in the brain, but more how does it impact the brain's ability to react.

In Canada, the legal limit of of alcohol in the blood while driving is no greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Breathalysers measure the amount of alcohol in the blood, but not necessarily the brain, Noseworthy said.

And while exploring the effects of alcohol started their research, it takes a drastically different step later on. They know that the brain is sluggish in certain diseases like Alzheimer's, and for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (something called "Chemo brain"), but they had to develop a test to prove that fact and research why.

Which brought Noseworthy back to the liquor cabinet. In this case, it was a bottle of Bushmills Irish Whiskey in his office (a gift from a former student, he said) which served as the perfect tool to develop a baseline sensitivity test for a sluggish brain. 

Their methodology: take an MRI of the baseline brain, add six ounces of whisky, test, and then test again after an hour and a half.

By using blood oxygen level-dependent imaging they were able to detect the amount of activity which was going on in the brain. Immediately after the 14 participants downed nearly half a mickey of Bushmills, the brain showed considerably less chaos. Ninety minutes later, the brain's normal chaotic state began to return.

"The alcohol makes the brain become really sluggish and less adaptable," Noseworthy said.

Less adaptability means a driver would have less of a chance of hitting the brakes in time, or at all.

Those findings, which were published in August in the journal, Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine, could lead Noseworthy to a better understanding of how much alcohol a person could have to perform a function such as driving by measuring the adaptiveness of the brain. It could also lead him to better understand the impacts of other drug treatments, too.

"We now have a technique that's sensitive to this complexity of the brain, now we're going forward with measuring it in diseases," Noseworthy said.

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Stoney Creek pharmacy robbery makes 13 so far this year

There have now been more pharmacy robberies so far in 2015 than in any of the previous four years

By Kelly Bennett, CBC News Posted: Apr 14, 2015 2:58 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 14, 2015 2:58 PM ET

Hamilton police are looking for a suspect in the latest in a series of pharmacy robberies. A Friday afternoon robbery made 13 so far in 2015, nearly double the seven pharmacy robberies in all of last year.

There have now been more pharmacy robberies in just the four months of 2015 than in any of the previous four years.

Police say a white man around 5-foot-3 in his 20s walked into a pharmacy at 311 Fruitland Road and demanded the pharmacist turn over narcotics. Police didn't say how much the suspect stole or in which direction he ran. There were no injuries and police are still investigating.

Illegal use of prescription opioids is the city's fastest growing drug problem and one that is playing a growing role in thefts and petty crime as addicts seek drugs and money to feed their habits.

The robberies aren't isolated to any one part of town. Hamilton Police published this map showing where the 13 robberies have taken place. One location, 712 Mohawk Rd. E., was targeted three times, and last month police were looking for one suspect they believe was behind all three. 

Police say anyone with information can contact police at 905.546.2991. To provide information anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.8477 or submit your tips online.

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Man who broke leg at super mailbox has a message for Canada Post

It was around noon, a week after a huge snow storm hit Hamilton, when Alex Tocher broke his ankle in three places when he stopped to get his mail.

The west Mountain resident pulled up to his local super mailbox, located about 50 metres from his house. He stepped into a snow bank lining the edge of the sidewalk, grabbed his mail and retraced his steps. But when he did, he twisted and broke his ankle in the snow.

It's an incident that has led Tocher, 69, to issue a call to Canada Post as it begins installing more community mailboxes on the Mountain.

"Keep them clear," he said. "At least have somewhere where people can enter to get their mail. And some people, if they're disabled or if they're elderly, I think it should be delivered somehow."

Super mail boxes are an issue at the front of councillors' minds as they prepare to lay down the law with Canada Post on Wednesday. City council has been a vocal opponent of the plan to stop urban mail delivery and replace them with community mailboxes.

'We've provided information over the last 10 months, and now we're at a point where we need to move forward."- Jon Hamilton, Canada Post

To that end, the city voted in February to amend a bylaw to include where community mailboxes can go. But on Monday, before the city could even pass it, Canada Post sent a letter saying that it was starting to install community mailboxes for some 36,000 customers on the Mountain. So city council will likely rush Wednesday to pass its bylaw.

As for Tocher, he doesn't mind community mailboxes. He's had one since the 1995, when he moved into his Adele Court home. His concern is that the corporation doesn't clear the snow in front of them in a timely fashion. As more community mailboxes are installed, he said, more people are at risk of being in his predicament.

It's a predicament that he's struggled with since Feb. 9, when the incident happened.

Breaking his ankle, he said, brought a pain that was "just unbelievable." His neighbour found him in the snow bank in intense pain and took him to the hospital. He's had surgery and spent two months in a cast.

A concern 'from day one'

He's finally graduated to a firm leg brace, but he can't return to his twice-weekly job as a shuttle driver until May, he said. He's only recently been able to get up the stairs. A container on his living room table contains 10 bottles of pills, including vitamins and prescriptions.

Tocher called Canada Post about his fall. They got details and didn't call back, he said. Someone also informed the office of Coun. Terry Whitehead of Ward 8, who argues against community mailboxes.

Whitehead said part of his objection is because of the risk to residents as they try to navigate snow-covered sidewalks in front of the mailboxes, much like Tocher did.

"It's a concern I've raised from day one," he said. "Will this expose the city to a higher risk? The answer from our legal (team) is yes."

Snow clearance shouldn't be a concern as more community mailboxes are installed, said Jon Hamilton, Canada Post spokesperson.

$25 million to clear snow

He hadn't heard of Tocher's specific case. But it's the corporation's responsibility to take care of snow clearing, he said, and it has a budget of more than $25 million per year to do so.

It hires contractors to do the job. If people have concerns, he said, they can contact Canada Post.

"If it's a one off, we clean it up," he said. "If it's an ongoing thing, where we're continuing to identify an area where we have an issue, we need to rectify that. We are responsible for clearing the snow and providing safe access in the winter."

That clear access includes the sidewalk in front of the community mailbox. In some cases, it includes the snow bank along the curb's edge if the mailbox faces the street — as it does in Tocher's case.

"It depends on the configuration," Hamilton said.

As for city council, it will vote on its bylaw at a special council meeting on Wednesday. But it's unclear whether it will even make a difference.

Unknown whether the bylaw will even make a difference

When asked, Hamilton would only say that Canada Post works with municipalities on where to install the boxes. He also said that Canada Post surveyed residents on the Mountain, which provided the corporation with plenty of feedback.

"We will be monitoring and we will continue to operate under the laws that govern postal services in this country," he said.

As for why it couldn't wait for the bylaw, Hamilton said Canada Post needs to move forward.

"Ultimately, we would have liked to worked more collaboratively throughout the process. We've put out many offers," he said.

"We've provided maps. We've provided information over the last 10 months, and now we're at a point where we need to move forward."

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC

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Police search gunman's apartment and computer to understand why

Hamilton police are combing the computer and other belongings of a 25-year-old man who opened fire in a Queenston Road apartment Sunday, leaving four people injured before turning the weapon on himself.

Police are looking for clues as to what led to the tragic attack. 

"We're analyzing [the shooter's belongings] just to see if it sheds any light on the 'why,'" said Detective Paul Hamilton on Tuesday.

'Sadly, all of the victims including Brandon remember every terrifying moment.'- Brad Clark 

Friends and family of the shooter told police he'd expressed frustration at "ongoing noise issues" in the apartment directly above his, Hamilton said.

"I don't think it's random," Hamilton said. "Obviously, the deceased had some animosity towards the victim, definitely not deserving of anything of this nature."

No noise complaints had been filed with the police or the property management company, Hamilton said. The shooter died as a result of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

"An incident like this is very alarming to the community," Hamilton said, "but I would like to reassure the community that incidents like this are very rare."

Police did not disclose his name, but a family member told CBC Hamilton that the shooter's name was Fred Pearce. In an obituary for Pearce, his mother, Tammy Fletcher, said, "Fred was very loved but did not realize how much." 

Hamilton said he's not sure whether the shooter knew any of the people at the party but said he expected he and the victim who lived in the apartment "crossed paths at some point." 

Hamilton said the police have not "seen any documented information that there's any past mental health issues" with the deceased. "We're hoping that going through the deceased's computer will shed some light on what his state of mind is, why he felt this way to come to this point."

Hamilton said the police have talked with each of the four victims but said they haven't yet taken any formal statements from them.

One of the victim's fathers says they all remember "every terrifying moment."

Former city councillor Brad Clark's son Brandon is in a medically induced coma in intensive care after undergoing his third surgery to repair damage from a shotgun blast to the back, Clark wrote in a statement.

Just before the surgery he was taken off a respirator and was breathing on his own, and that meant he could finally communicate with his parents.

"Sadly, all of the victims including Brandon remember every terrifying moment," Clark wrote. "It's been another emotional day, but he is alive!"

According to police, a man showed up at a third floor apartment with a shotgun during a gathering at about 2 a.m. Sunday and opened fire.

Clark and his friend Scott Morin were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds, while another man and a woman were injured jumping off the third-floor balcony to escape.

Police say a man showed up with a shotgun during a gathering at a Queenston Road apartment at about 2 a.m. on Sunday and opened fire. (David Ritchie/CBC)

Many questions remain surrounding the incident. 

In a previous statement, Clark called the incident a "random act of violence."

Pearce's cousin Danielle Barwell told CBC Hamilton that partying and noise might have caused things to escalate. "Nobody knows what happened," she said.

"He was a good person who kept to himself," she said. "That's not like him at all."

Resident Edye Carpenter heard the events unfold from her apartment down the hall.

"I don't know who phoned 911, I was going to, but I was afraid to go to the door," said Carpenter.

"I heard a guy say, 'I'm going to bash your head in the wall.' After that it kind of quieted, and then it escalated again."

"And then I heard 'pop pop' and a woman scream twice."

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Budget airline NewLeaf Travel wants to make Hamilton a hub

An Ontario businessman with a career in airlines and hotels says he hopes his ultra-low-cost airline, NewLeaf Travel Co., will have its eastern stop in Hamilton. 

"The idea is that we are trying to lower the airfares," said Jim Young. "We're focusing on secondary airports. We don't like high-cost airports like Vancouver, Calgary, (Toronto) Pearson." In the west, Young is aiming to fly into Abbotsford, B.C., instead of Vancouver International.

Young said he hopes to launch this summer on "unserved and underserved routes." 

The idea comes as Air Canada is preparing to launch discount "Rouge" flights between Hamilton and Calgary in June. 

Jim Young released the company logo. (NewLeaf Travel Co.)

NewLeaf is one of several ultra-low-cost airlines in Canada trying to leap from the backs of napkins to the runway.

Young should know; for six months he was head of Canadian Jetlines, another aspiring ultra-low-cost carrier that has said it wants to make Hamilton its eastern hub. There's a difference, he says. 

Jetlines is starting from "a clean sheet of paper, whereas [Newleaf has] taken a more partnership approach," Young said.

The company is partnering with Kelowna, B.C.-based Flair Airlines, a private charter airline, for aircraft, maintenance and crews. Rather than buying planes from scratch, partnering with Flair will cut out some of the operational hurdles to getting a new airline off the ground, Young hopes.

Lauren Yaksich, director of marketing for the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport said discussions with NewLeaf are so far confidential, but said the airport is hoping to be the southern Ontario home for a low-cost airline like NewLeaf or another. 

'Fly local, pay local'

The company hopes to look like the budget Ryanair in Europe, or Spirit or Allegiant airlines in the United States. 

The company will sell packages with hotels and rental cars to Canadian and U.S. holiday destinations. But it will also hope to fill a low-cost flight niche for barebones customers looking for "a seat and a seatbelt" for casual travel. 

Young eyes the market for Ontario residents who drive past Hamilton's airport on their way to fly from Buffalo and Niagara Falls in the U.S. He pegged that contingent at more than 5 million people annually, and said he hopes that NewLeaf could help convince them to "fly local, pay local."

Young has had tenures at Frontier, Canadian and Continental airlines. He started an outfit in Chicago called Festival Airlines that was eventually taken down by high oil prices and the financial collapse. He was also an executive at Frontier Airlines. He spent some time in England at a hotels group. 

Having built, restructured and even closed airlines, Young said he admits there's cynicism about would-be airlines. 

But for about nine months, he and the NewLeaf team have been strategizing their entry into the market, potentially this summer. They flew skiers from the GTA out to B.C. resorts in ski season. 

'Hey, we're thinking of starting an airline!'

NewLeaf has tried to fly under the radar while recruiting investors, talking with the Hamilton airport and running some test flights. 

"We just haven't come out and said anything," Young said. 

Young said after 25 years in the airline and hospitality industries, he didn't want to come on too strong at the outset. 

"I've seen so many of these 'Hey, we're thinking of starting an airline!' and then it's 'Wait for it, wait for it...'" he said. 

He said flight regulators won't allow him to release exact routes or prices until they're actually for sale.

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Hamilton human trafficking kingpin Domotor deported to Hungary

The kingpin of what has been called Canada's largest human trafficking ring was deported to Hungary on April 10, the Canada Border Services Agency announced Tuesday.

Ferenc Domotor, Sr., was deported to Hungary on April 10.

The deportation of Ferenc Domotor, Sr., came a year after 20 others involved in the ring were deported. 

Public safety minister Steven Blaney commended the agency for working to ensure "that Canadians are safe from a despicable crime that preys on the most vulnerable."

"This investigation has come to a fitting conclusion with the removal of those responsible for the misery of others," said Steve Martin, inspector in charge for the Hamilton/Niagara RCMP detachment said. 

The Domotor-Kolompar criminal organization brought as many as 19 victims from Hungary to the Hamilton area, forced them to work against their will from dawn to dusk, held them in basements and fed them food scraps.

In April 2012, Domotor was sentenced to nine years after he pleaded guilty to being part of a criminal organization, conspiracy to traffic in human beings and coercing victims to mislead immigration authorities. 

Domotor's brother, Gyula Domotor, has not been deported because he is the only member of the criminal organization with Canadian citizenship.

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